30 Theme Challenge
by RogueRaven21
Summary: Just what the title says. Duenan and Briareos in various situations, a collection of short little drabbles.
1. Set 1

****A/N: I found this wonderful 30 Theme Challenge on wattpad and decided to give it a try. X-posted to Appleseed-stuff on LJ. Still don't own Appleseed.

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><p><strong>1. Story (early LA)<strong>

"Tell me a story," the pint sized terror demanded of her new friend. The former KGB assassin blinked at the little girl a few times before her request sank in. Finishing his previous activity of tucking the sheets in around her small frame, Briareos sat down and considered his limited knowledge of bedtime stories. After a moment, he smiled and began to speak.

"Once upon a time, there was brave girl who could win every fight and was the very best at defending her home. One day she met a broken warrior and decided to team up with him when no one else would. Together they travelled the land, defeating anyone who challenged them." He reached over and ruffled the girl's hair.

"And? Did they live together happily ever after?" Deunan asked curiously, her tone suggesting a child's concern that the characters remained friends.

Briareos' expression became thoughtful, "I guess we're just going to have to find out."

**3. Cherry Blossoms**

Their hectic lives didn't give them much time to relax, but when they had the chance they tried to spend the free time outside. Olympus had a large selection of beautifully cultivated parks that encouraged lazy afternoons.

Deunan had fallen asleep in the shade of the blooming tree they had settled beneath. Simply enjoying the mild weather, Briareos leaned back against the trunk to watch her rest. Hitting the solid mass harder then he intended, soft pink petals drifted down and settled on the sleeping beauty beside him.

The cyborg considered the cherry blossoms gracing Deunan's face and body, and knew if he could capture one moment to last forever, is would be it.

**4. Rain (Olympus)**

He probably didn't even notice her watching him as he stood in the rain. Deunan looked out the water-streaked glass at her cyborg and wondered. He had stood outside in a storm and let the water run over him and stared into the stormy skies as long as she had known him. Was he trying to wash away his past? The blood on his hands? The warrior woman knew better then to ask anymore. The short time Briareos spent in the rain was _his_ time to think, to clear his head. Not even becoming a cyborg diminished his need to stand in the rain.

**9. Shooting Star**

"Aren't you supposed to make a wish on a shooting star?" Bri asked quietly as they sat out on the roof one night. The moon had set early leaving the sky glittering and bright with stars.

"Why?" Deunan asked, cuddling closer under her cyborg's arm, "I already got you. What more could I ever wish for?"

He chuckled quietly and hugged her as tight as he dared.

**10. Rice (Olympus)**

Briareos opened the door to the apartment, instantly became engulfed in a cloud of smoke, and just as quickly he wished he'd been shot in the line of duty. His woman was cooking again, and things did not look like it would be one of the lucky days when she actually succeeded.

"Deunan?" he called, trying to wave the smoke away from his nose, "Are you all right?"

A fit of coughing answered him, before he heard, "I'm okay! I just didn't add enough water."

He finally got into the kitchen and found the underused room rather clean except for the fire filled pot on the cook top. "What were you trying to make?"

Deunan managed to look sheepish as she looked up at him, "Instant rice?"

Unable to be upset at her adorable expression, the cyborg shook his head and dropped the lid on the pot. Cutting the heat, he pulled his girl close to him and hugged her. Once he was certain the failed dinner was no longer a danger, Bri chuckled softly. "You know, if you wanted me to take you out for Asian food, all you had to do was ask. You didn't have to ignite the poor rice."

Clearly torn between laughing and slugging her man, Deunan settled for giving him a withering look before pushing past him muttering, "I'll get my coat."


	2. Set 2

****A/N: Aaaaaand I'm back! Thanks so much for the review zebon zakura! And no beach or paintball yet but that really helps me out! I'm about half way done and was feeling stuck, but that just gave me a whole booku of ideas! And I forgot to note in the last chapter, that the numbering is a little off because I can't do anything in order. As I finish one, it gets moved to the top of the file, then broken up into chapter chunks. Once again x-posted to Appleseed-stuff on LJ!

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><p><strong>15. Wings (movie verse)<strong>

He never questioned her bravery or her faith in him, but that night it had never been more apparent. His blasting open the wall hadn't shaken her at all. Without any hesitation, Deunan had taken a running start and leapt out the opening without a glimmer of fear. She knew she could jump out the twentieth story of a building and be fine.

As if she had wings no one else could see.

In that moment he watched her, Briareos whisper to himself, "Fly, baby, fly!"

**18. Night (Olympus)**

The days tended to be long, difficult, and exhausting for the members of ESWAT, but in the quiet moments of the night, those days became worth it.

Briareos tucked Deunan against his side and gently rested his head on hers. She was battered and bruised, and if he wasn't a cyborg he would have been too, but in that boring little apartment they called home, Bri knew he had somehow found peace.

He didn't deserve it, any of it. Not the love from his woman, the paycheck, the second chance at life he's been given, none of it. As he listened to Deunan's breathing become deeper as she slipped into sleep, he offered up his thanks to whom ever would listen to him. Politicians could fight each other mercilessly and then declare they reached a peace, but Bri knew those idiots didn't know what it really meant.

Peace was falling asleep at night after an honest days work with the one he loved and the knowledge that while evil deeds had been done in the past, they were just that, the past, and nothing beyond the immediate moment mattered.

**21. Note (Olympus)**

It was silly to keep the little scrap of paper for all those years, but Deunan always had it tucked away in her wallet or where ever else to keep it close and safe. Most recently, she had found a sturdy little locket to keep it in. If Briareos ever found out that the paper was what she kept in the simple piece of jewelry, he would never let her hear the end of it. To her, it was more than a simple piece of paper. It was a reminder of a former, simpler life and a young love that nothing would break. The little scrap was also the last thing Bri had ever written in his own hand, at least that she possessed.

She had still been asleep when he left for what was supposed to be a quick mission to Algiers. He had never become comfortable enough with 'soft' emotions to verbally express what he felt, so he had left the note beside her pillow. With his neat print he had scribbled out: "I love you".

She kept it in the locket so that she always had the words he could never say close to her heart.

**22. Fire (LA pre-cyborg)**

"All units, Code 3, 10-75 third floor woman's dorm at the big house. All units respond."

The whole SWAT team went silent as the call came in over the van's dashboard radio. As the codes sank in and translated, a chorus of "Oh shit," filled the enclosed space. Fires on base didn't happen very often, most of them came from the kitchen, but hearing it had broken out in the dorm made every officer go cold.

Briareos, already worried, listened to the code again and felt the hard chill of panic settle into his gut when it hit him: Deunan's room was on the fourth floor. Depending on which end of the building the fire was, she could potentially be trapped. Throwing his headset on, he tried to get something from the radio chatter. All he could pick up was that the blaze was bad, and getting worse. The coastal wind that gave the area a constant breeze fed fires and made them spread fast.

Not hearing anything about the residents, Bri yanked out his cell phone and hit the speed dial for Deunan. It rang until the voicemail came on. Trying to keep calm, he tried to tell himself that she might have gone out to the club with some of the other girl's while he had been busy with his Friday night SWAT mission and couldn't hear her phone.

Pulling onto the academy proper, the brilliant glow in the dark sky behind the main buildings made the intensity even more apparent. The doors were already open and the SWAT team flying out before the van ever came to a stop. Only the strictest of rules and training kept Bri from breaking into a run towards the cluster of women standing a safe distance away from the blazing building.

"Alice!" the Greek yelled over the ruckus of the scene to get the attention of the closest woman he recognized as one of Deunan's clubbing friends. When she turned, he gently grabbed her arm, taking note that she was dressed in rumpled night clothes, not her usual eye catching outfits she wore out with the girls. "Alice, where's Deunan?"

"I don't know. We are trying to figure out who all was in tonight. We're still missing four girls including her." The brunette cadet, clearly shaken, stated calmly.

"Leslie's okay! She's at her boyfriend's!" another officer shouted, phone pressed to her ear, confirming one person's location.

Briareos took the situation into account even as he began calling his girl's cell again. The firefighters were doing their part, and had the proper training and equipment to search for the missing women. Even though the rational voice in his head reminded him to never go into a burning building, the continuing ringing of Deunan's phone made him seriously consider doing just that.

"Briareos!"

Spinning at the sound of his name, he forgot the phone in his hand as his blond minx threw herself onto him. "Thank God I found you! I had to leave my phone and knew you'd freak when I didn't answer."

"Where-" he started, checking the small, smoke smudged girl for injury.

"The other side of the building with Trish and Kirin. The firefighters finally escorted us over here. The south wing where we were is okay, but they're saying the north wing is a total lo-"

She never got to finish the sentence. Briareos dropped to his knees and hugged Deunan hard against him, resting his head against her shoulder. "I don't care, girl. You're safe."

He indulged in the feeling of her stroking the back of his neck, reassuring him she was okay, as the firefighters brought the blaze behind them under control.

**26. Silk (Roulette i.e. pick-a-verse)**

He had always loved the way silk sheets slid over her body like shimmering liquid. His love for it though, became tested the first time he wound up on the floor after sliding uncontrollably across bed. It might not have been quite so bad if Deunan hadn't laughed her ass off, sufficiently killing the romantic mood.

"Not funny, girl," he grumbled as he started to get up. Fortunately, the only thing he seemed to have injured appeared to be his pride.

The blonde's uncontrollable laughter proved otherwise. "Are you kidding? That was hilarious! I only wish I had a camera!"


	3. Set 3

****A/N: Thought I posted this already. Training schedule at work has been intense and exhausting. I haven't really written anything in the last two months and that alone depresses the bejeezus out of me. Many thanks to everyone who has read, faved and reviewed! Even if I take forever to get back up here I really appreciate everyone's time! Still don't own appleseed, spending all my money on a Deunan cosplay!

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><p><strong>27. Waterfall (Olympus) <strong>

The tropical island proved even better then the brochures had promised. They had spent most of the morning exploring the beautiful jungle trails, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the exotic place. Another point in being a full body cyborg, Briareos noted as he observed his girl's sweat drenched face, the humidity didn't bother him any more.

Despite the heat and moisture, Deunan clearly enjoyed the bright green foliage and all the wonders it held. She pointed out whatever little thing that caught her interest, and he returned the favor by noting the things she wouldn't initially see without enhancements.

As the morning wore on, they decided to leave the trail to follow a clear stream of water, just to see if they could catch sight of some of the larger wildlife. A rushing sound gradually grew louder the further into the wilderness they wandered until they finally came upon a modest waterfall.

"Oh! We have to go in!" Deunan exclaimed.

"Dare I ask why?" giving his girl a sideways look, he chuckled quietly to himself at her expression of pure excited joy.

Tugging on his arm until he began to walk forward, Deunan laughed. "Because! In all the movies where a couple comes across a waterfall, they always go swimming. It's just one of those romantic things a couple has to do!"

As he stepped past the blonde's discarded underwear, the cyborg mused that all those movies just might have been on to something. Casting his own clothes off, he joined his girl in the cool water.

Once he reached the blonde nymph, he hugged her close to his chest and concluded that yes, those movies were most definitely on to something. He planned on enjoying the experiencing first hand to the fullest extent.

**28. Memories (with apologies to lunar for butchering her fantastic verse)**

Years later she some times still woke in the middle of the night, trembling at the memories that haunted her dreams.

Deunan had never imagined at seventeen that she would have to bury the man she loved. He was too amazing and too skilled to have died in some foreign land. He had always been the very best at what he did, so good she didn't think he could die. Eventually, she discovered she was right, that a cluster rocket wasn't enough to take him out, but until then…

She had stood there beside the glossy black casket and silently cried. No matter how much she had chided herself, she couldn't stop the tears rolling down her face. In the years the former freelancer had been in her life, she had looked to him for so much. Loosing him was more then loosing a lover; she lost her dearest, closest confidant and friend.

In those waking moments when the memories felt like the present, she still cried, still trembled, and still thought he was dead. Always attuned to her, it only took a moment for Briareos to wake and reach for her.

The cyborg knew why she cried and held her close until she could convince herself that she wasn't trapped in memories anymore. Cradling the girl, he would quietly rock her and stroke her hair until the tears stopped and she could sleep once more.

**29. Sleep (manga verse - Olympus)**

"I don't know how I feel about having anyone sleep on our sofa besides us; and I _really_ don't know how I feel about letting Argus sleep on our sofa," Deunan stated, crossing her arms across her chest.

Briareos sighed and leaned back in his chair. "What's the problem? I've known the man for years."

The blonde's expression became sour. "He's a former freelancer and a current spook. I just don't trust him being as close as our sofa while I'm sleeping."

"I'm a former freelancer and you trust me in _bed_ with you," the cyborg pointed out. "That's a hell of a lot closer then the sofa, and you're okay with that."

The look Deunan gave him clearly suggested that if he didn't want to share the sofa with their guest, he'd best abandon that particular argument.

Heaving a deeper sigh, the cyborg shook his head. "It's just for a little while, just until his apartment's renovation is done, then he'll disappear back to where he came from like a good little spook."

Huffing in defeat, the slight woman slumped in her chair. "Fine, but if he isn't out when he's supposed to be out? You're both going to be sleeping on the steps."

Laughing, Briareos reached over and ruffled his girl's short hair. "I'll be sure to remember that."

**7. Bamboo (LA- holiday special)**

"Deunan, can you please come here and explain something for me?"

Getting up from her customary position sprawled on the couch, the blonde woman stretched and wandered over to where her cyborg lover stood just out of the doorframe. "What is it?"

Briareos mentally braced himself for whatever she was about to say in response to his inquiry. "Why is there bamboo hanging in the doorframe?"

Deunan looked up at the three dried green shoots she'd tied together and hung off a nail. "Tradition?"

"Tradition." He repeated, voice bleeding with exasperated patience. "And which tradition is this exactly?"

"Well, it's traditional to hang mistletoe in doorways at Christmas time."

"Yes, I've heard that."

"When was the last time you saw real mistletoe in southern California?"

Briareos buried his face in his hand and debated between laughing and indulging in the mother of all sighs.

"Hey! Are you gonna kiss me or not?" Deunan demanded, pointing out that she was indeed standing under the plant in question.

Sighing would have to wait.

**17. Snow (Olympus)**

An island off the west coast of Africa had no business being so cold, Deunan thought uncharitably, slapping the snooze button for the fifth time. Snuggled back under several layers of blankets, the young woman had deduced that the room was frosty enough for there to be snow on the ground, and thus she wasn't giving up her toasty warm nest.

Even though it was a rather empty toasty warm nest.

Briareos, with the help of his cybernetic enhancements, had no problems getting up at the first alarm and didn't seem bothered by the chilly (for a native Californian) temperatures. In fact, she managed to piece together that her man had already showered, dressed, and was downstairs making coffee.

If the smell was any indication, he was brewing her favorite caramel hazelnut blend.

Heavy footfalls announced the cyborg's presence, but not even her man was enough to convince the blond she wanted to leave her warm sanctuary. She heard Bri's quiet chuckle and then the gentle clink of a coffee mug being set down on the bedside table.

The sweet aroma and the promise of liquid warmth brought Deunan slowly out from under the blankets, much to the even greater amusement of Briareos. Carefully grasping the curved handle, she brought the steaming drink close and simply reveled in the aroma of the only thing that could bribe the ESWAT officer out.


End file.
